Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Opens for Public Visits

Ethiomonitor -Addis Ababa 

September 22, 2025  

As of today, September 22, 2025, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa’s largest hydropower project, has officially opened its doors to the public, FBC reported, citing Tourism Minister Selamawit Kassa.

Minister Kassa stated that groups of up to 50 visitors will be permitted to tour the dam at a time, indicating that registration for these visits will be managed through Ethiopian Airlines.
This initiative aims to promote tourism and provide an opportunity for the public to engage with one of the country’s most significant infrastructure projects, she added.

The recently inaugurated hydropower project is regarded as a “dam of dreams” by Ethiopians, though it is perceived as an “existential threat” by Egyptians.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has formally warned the UN Security Council about Ethiopia’s “unilateral actions” concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.

Cairo affirmed that it “will not allow its water rights to be compromised and will take all measures guaranteed by international law and the UN Charter to defend the existential interests of its people.”

In a statement last week, the Foreign Ministry emphasized Egypt’s categorical rejection of what it described as a blatant violation of international law by Addis Ababa and a challenge to the legal frameworks governing the Eastern Nile Basin.

Despite repeated concerns from Egypt that the now-completed hydropower dam will put the country’s water security at risk, Ethiopia believes it has no intention of harming the downstream countries and instead aims to benefit all neighbors.

“To our neighbors downstream, I want to assure you that we don’t intend to hurt you but to find common prosperity,” said Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday, the day the GERD was inaugurated.

“GERD is not only for Ethiopians; it is for Africa and for all Black people,” he added.

The almost $5 billion mega-dam will generate more than 5,000 megawatts and is expected to double the national electricity generation capacity, according to officials.

“Before GERD, our generation capacity was about 4,900 megawatts, and now it adds 5,150 MW,” said Habtamu Itefa, Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy.

Ethiopia started constructing the dam across a maximum area of 1,874 square kilometers on the Blue Nile in 2011 to secure water resources and export electricity to accelerate its development. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan’s leaders agreed in 2015 in Khartoum that the construction of the megaproject should not affect the economy, the river flow, or the hydroelectric security of any of the three riparian countries, but there has been disagreement ever since.